The earthquake's epicenter was 102 miles west of Tapachula in southern Chiapas state, near the Mexico-Guatemala border. Local officials there told reporters that there were two confirmed deaths as a result of the quake.
The region where the earthquake hit closest to is one of the poorest in Mexico and the USGS said hosing construction will likely be impacted.
"Overall, the population in this region resides in structures that are a mix of vulnerable and earthquake resistant construction," the USGS said. "The predominant vulnerable building types are adobe block with concrete bond beam and mud wall construction."
The quake caused buildings to sway as far away as Mexico City, the nation's capital, causing people to run out into the streets to avoid being caught in structure collapses, according to social media reports. Mexican newspaper El Pais tweeted a video of Mexico City's iconic Angel of Independence statue swaying during the quake.
"It's a big quake. It's about 70 miles offshore, but it's not an unheard of quake," USGS geophysicist Randy Baldwin told NBC News.
He added: "This is a large quake. I'm sure that it will be widely felt and possibly damaging."
[upi.com]
8/9/17
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Mw 8.1
Region OFFSHORE CHIAPAS, MEXICO
Date time 2017-09-08 04:49:21.2 UTC
Location 15.02 N ; 93.81 W
Depth 72 km
Distances
357 km W of Guatemala City, Guatemala / pop: 995,000 / local time: 22:49:21.2 2017-09-07
205 km S of Tuxtla Gutiérrez, Mexico / pop: 482,000 / local time: 23:49:21.2 2017-09-07
98 km SW of Pijijiapan, Mexico / pop: 15,200 / local time: 23:49:21.2 2017-09-07
[emsc-csem.org]
8/9/17
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A powerful 8.1 magnitude earthquake struck off the southern Mexico coast last night killing at least 15 people and triggering a tsunami.
ReplyDeleteThe quake hit offshore in the Pacific about 120km southwest of the town of Tres Picos in far southern Chiapas state.
Three people were killed in the state, according to Governor Manuel Velasquez. He also said that two more people were killed in neighbouring Tabasco state.
Ten more bodies were found in the southern city of Juchitan.
[rte.ie]
8/9/17
At least 58 people have been killed and more than 250 injured is the preliminary balance of the strong earthquake that struck Mexico and parts of Central America on Thursday, the largest tremor suffered by this country since 1932.
ReplyDelete